ARTHUR A PILGRIM
 By Arthur Blessitt
 
Page 18
After my study I lay in the bed praying, "Lord, if there is anything you'd like to say tonight, you can speak whatever is in your heart and in your mind and I will do it for Thy glory."

Words cannot express the passion in my heart for God to reveal His thoughts. An invitation... God had told me to invite Him to reveal Himself afresh. It was 2:00 in the morning as I went to sleep. At 3:00 I was suddenly awake. My watch was showing the time as I lay in this room. It was as if I could see far beyond the room into distant outer space, beyond everything we knew there. A distant glow, growing closer and closer, past all of the galaxies coming toward earth, growing larger and larger as a bright rolling, swirling glow (all the colors of brightness, like red, gold, yellow, and orange), sweeping toward the earth, swirling not from the top to the bottom like ocean waves, but from the bottom to the top. It was like a fiery stream coming closer and closer. I tried to cry out but was speechless. I could not move. The mighty wind of the golden glory was rushing in. There was a host of people and angels just beyond the golden swirl of glory. The brightness just behind the glory was blinding silver and ultra-white, then the words before my eyes, "Arthur, proclaim the glory of the coming of the Lord is at hand."

Those words stayed before my eyes the entire vision. It was the coming of the glory of the Lord, the glory swept over the earth, leaving it white, sparkling clean behind, then into my room and it swept just over me by inches and then it would recede and return again and again. From the bottom of my feet to the top of my head, like ocean waves, the glory swept over me.
After an hour or so my groaning woke Gina. I could not speak for awhile, but finally said to her and Mike, "Can't you see the glory of the Lord? Look! Look!"

But they could not see anything. I crawled out of bed, over to Mike's bed, putting my hand upon his eyes. I said, "Lord, Lord, open his eyes and let him see like Elijah's servant in the Bible."

But Mike said, "..... nothing."

I sat on the floor and said, "Lord, I don't need a vision. I love you. I will follow you. I don't want to get off preaching Jesus into something else."

But the Lord interrupted me and said, "Be free, fear not, receive what I am giving you. Release yourself to me."

All strength left my body and I lay as dead on the floor for four hours, until 8:00 in the morning. I cannot tell all I saw, but I could see and experience the glory of the coming of the Lord. Oh, how indescribably wonderful! If you like art, nature and true beauty, you cannot afford to miss the glory of the Lord!

Then He would let me see and experience the horror, the awesome painful horror that first moment when one realizes he has missed the glory of the coming of the Lord. All of what life is they have missed it. Everything lost for eternity. I missed it all... oh, horror of horrors, pain in mind, body and soul. Oh, I would burst into tears, agony gripped me, then the beauty and the glory of the coming of the Lord would be before me and I would thrill inside every part of my being in the glory, the glory... oh, my Lord and my God. This would change again and again as I experienced the agony and the ecstasy.

Finally the Lord spoke: "I have chosen you. It has taken a long time to prepare you for this time, but the time is at hand. Arthur, proclaim the glory of the coming of the Lord is at hand."
I tried to protest, for I had never emphasized the second coming of Christ in its detail, I always spoke of now more than the future. Trying to get all of the prophesy concerning Syria, Iran, Russia, China and the other areas in its exact place had confused me. The Lord spoke again as I concerned myself about correct theology. "Don't consider anything; just proclaim the glory of the coming of the Lord is at hand."

I thought, "Where? ... How? I'm not able. I'm just a road man, dirty blue jeans and a cross. You have big television preachers, huge crusade evangelists, and large organizations to reach the world."

But the Lord spoke. "Don't ask questions. Proclaim my message. To this end you were born. You have always known it. Now is the time. Fear not; proclaim the coming of the glory of the Lord is at hand."

Mike and Gina sat for hours watching over me. Mike reassured Gina, saying, "Arthur is with the Lord."

Now the vision receded. I motioned for a glass of water and after drinking it I could speak. My body was exhausted and I fell back into bed and went into a deep sleep, resting in the glory of the Lord.

DANIEL 7:9, 10, 14, 15, 28; CHAPTER 8:27-"His throne was like the fiery flame and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth before him and there was given him dominion and glory, and I Daniel was grieved in my spirit, changed in my heart, fainted and was astonished at the vision."

EZEKIEL 1:26-28-"Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance. And on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. Then I noticed from the appearance of his loins and upward something resembling glowing metal that looked like fire all around within and from the appearance of his loins and downward I saw something like fire. And there was radiance around him. As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking."

REVELATION 21:10-11-"And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper."

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10. A WALK ALONG THE AMAZON RIVER

The Amazon River is one of the great wonders of the world. It is bigger than the next seven largest rivers of the world put together. The Mississippi, the Congo, the Nile, the Ganges, all could fit inside the Amazon. The volume of water is so much that 400 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean you can still drink the water.

The distance from Iquitos, Peru, to the mouth of the Amazon is almost 4,000 miles, yet the river drops only about 400 feet. It is nearly flat. Ocean-going ships can navigate the Amazon all the way to Iquitos, Peru, three-fourths of the way across the South American Continent. Most of the boats, however, are local. They are long and narrow. It is the transportation system in place of roads. The boats carry people, cows, pigs, coconuts, bananas, and everything imaginable.

There are thousands of birds of every kind, huge fish weighing up to 500 pounds, and villages dotting the banks here and there.

I felt led by the Lord to take the cross down the great flowing river. I flew into Iquitos with my daughter, Gina, and Mike Ooten. We bought a boat from some Indians for $1,000. The boat was 55 feet long and 12 feet wide and would carry 150 people. The registered name was "Recieo" but we called it "The Holy Floater." The partners at TBN television had given us the money through the burden of Paul and Jan. We converted it inside so that four people could sleep. It was complete with mosquito netting, a stove, and two 12 horsepower motors that we purchased in Iquitos. We mounted the cross on the front. I would take the cross down and carry it around the river villages, give out gospel materials, preach, and then move on to the next village by way of the boat. I always had a local guide because the river is so huge with so many lakes that you could get lost for days. Also, you need someone who knew where the villages are located. The guide would also serve as our interpreter.

The following are a few excerpts about this trip from my diary.
"The power of God was so strong and the glory of God so great, you could feel the power of the Holy Spirit come like the rain."

I lay on the bow of the ship. Oh, the glory of the Lord. What peace and joy on the Amazon. The sunset was awesome. It's like a year's weight was lifted from me. Into the night we ran with the drone of the motor mixing with the splashing water. In the clear night, with the full moon and stars, it is easy to see the river and dodge the floating trees.

Today a storm came so quickly. Dark, rolling clouds. Driving rains. Strong winds and huge waves. The boat, with its grass roof and wooden walls, is top heavy. The motor would rise completely out of the water and it was hard to get power. We almost sank, but finally made it to shore.

Today we stopped at a leper colony against the protest of our guide. Gina, Mike and I went ashore with the cross. There were about 5,000 people in the town. The colony was built on poles above the swamp. The residents were so excited to see us. We spent the day with these poor people, many with no hands or feet or eyes. The dying people were housed in a separate building. We visited each dying person and prayed for them. I preached several times in my poor Spanish. The Catholic nuns and priests that helped were gone for supplies, so we did not meet them.

It is so strange how the missionaries are often condemned in the West for exploitation. What is there to exploit here? Where are the leper colonies and jungle hospitals and schools that the atheists support with their donations? I read to the people from the Bible. In the book of Revelation, it says, "One day there will be no more death, sorrow, pain or tears." How blessed are the healthy.

Leticia, Colombia - We got a hotel room overlooking the Amazon. As the sun sets over the river, it is of the most beautiful colors I have ever seen. Mike, Gina and I began to sing, "From the rising of the sun unto the going down, the Lord's name is to be praised." We began to dance in the spirit as David danced before the Lord. We were crying, laughing, dancing, singing and praying. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.

I returned to America to take Gina home and bring Joy and Joshua, two more of my children, with me. Joshua was eight and Joy was nine. Mike remained behind on the boat.

We had two five-gallon drums of gasoline for fuel on our boat, but we needed to get one more as we had almost run out of fuel on the way to Leticia. Mike had bought a third drum and they were all in the rear of the boat. When I returned, the smell of gasoline was very strong in the enclosed boat. We cooked supper over the open flame of the kerosene stove, and then went to sleep. But the next morning, I said, "Mike, gasoline is spilled in this boat. The smell is too strong."

I went to the back where the drums were and tapped the sides of them and two of them sounded with a thud. They were full. The third one rang hollow. My heart almost stopped. "Where is the gasoline, Mike, this one is empty!"